Denny Hamlin Inexplicably Slow in Inaugural Iowa Race
5 months agoDenny Hamlin shockingly had one of his worst runs in years in last night's Iowa race. Although he qualified 12th and was a pre-race favorite because he usually adapts well to rough track conditions and abrasive surfaces, as he did at Bristol, Hamlin rapidly fell through the pack and was surprisingly lapped multiple times on speed, falling as low as 34th on merit before getting bailed out when a caution came out after some of the leaders made their green-flag pit stops while he had not. However, not long afterward, he was caught up in the Kyle Larson crash and he fell well off the pace with crash damage and finished 24th. Hamlin ranked only 32nd in speed in the race and would have only ranked one position better if you threw out the laps after the crash. Most likely this was a bizarre aberration in an otherwise top-notch season.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference